Oystein
I am a scientist and teacher. A sinner and gentleman. A killer and would-be saviour. And, if you will do me the great honour, I would like to be your friend. - Doctor Oystein, Zom-B Angels Doctor Oystein Dowling is a Norwegian zombie scientist. He is the leader of the Angels and the true villain of the Zom-B series. He is the man who started the apocalypse. He dies after Schlesinger-10 is released, which kills every mutant and zombie apart from the few in Groove Tubes. Early life and Poland Oystein was born shortly after the turn of the twentieth century in Norway and travelled around Europe with his family when he was a child. When he was a man he settled in Poland, where his wife was from and where his elder brother, Albrecht, who was also a doctor, had set up his home. Oystein was an atheist for most of his life, and he followed the beliefs of Darwin and other scientists. He and his brother were noted geneticists and had many offers to live around the world, though they remained in Poland. When the Nazis invaded Poland, Oystein wanted to leave but his wife and children didn't want to leave their home. His brother did not want to leave either. Oystein remained reluctantly in Poland, hoping he could work peacefully and quietly as he was not political and was not a member of anything the Nazis hated. However, the Nazis were also interested in genetics and wanted to improve the human race and form a master race. They saw Oystein and his brother as the key. Working with the Nazis When they refused, they were brought to a concentration camp and forced to work. Oystein had three children, and his brother had four. They shot one of Oystein's children and two of his brother's to force them to work for them. Oystein, Albrecht, and a team of other elite scientists made huge advances in the world of genetics and Oystein eventually created the first revived. Whilst the doctor continued trying to make a breakthrough, the Nazis provided him and his brother with regular reports of their families, including photographs and letters. This stopped one day and Oystein learned that his remaining children had been murdered. His wife, along with his brother's wife, had also been murdered by an over-eager guard when she attacked the guard in a wild frenzy. Only his brother's daughter and son remained, and Oystein's niece died months later. His nephew, Owl Man, survived. The brothers knew that if they were captured during escape they would be injected by their virus, so they created the revitalisation vaccine and injected themselves with it. They tried to escape, and were tortured and interrogated. Oystein told the Nazis that he thought it was impossible to revitalise a subject and that the vacant zombies were the best they were going to get. Oystein revitalised after Albrecht and freed the zombies on the soldiers and scientists, who were taken by surprise. The zombies spared no one, and were aided by the doctors who opened doors and sought out hiding places. After the humans were disposed of, Oystein and Albrecht destroyed all the paperwork and evidence of the zombie experiments. They also killed all of the zombies. However, Dr Oystein, seeing the brutality of humanity, while thinking that God had intervened and saved the Dowling brothers into revitalisation, decided that the Almighty had tasked him set an apocalypse to punish humans severely, even deciding to eventually replace them with mutant babies. He started to proceed with his task secretly, without his brother or any of their coworkers knowing. Schlesinger-10 and Clements-13 Oystein then spent many years working with the undead gene to create both an army of revitalised and a deadly virus called Schesinger-10,which he claimed would wipe out all of the living dead. Clements-13 was his key to destroying the rest of humanity after the apocalypse started, but he told his Angels that it would kill every member of the undead once released. Together with his brother and nephew, he managed to create the virus, and supposedly created its equally deadly counterpart, Clements-13, which would wipe out all of humanity and a few closely related animals such as chimps. This could not be true, as Schlesinger-10 is the virus which can wipe out humanity. He also created its counterpart, Clements-13, which he stored inside a book in his lab in London. A schism was created between the three scientists after Oystein injected his brother with a virus that drove him insane during a fight once he revealed that he wanted to destroy humanity, rather than save it, as Albrecht had been led to believe. Tom broke into the doctor’s lab and stole his samples of Schlesinger-10. He also attempted to have the doctor assassinated like his assistants, but thankfully for the doctor, Master Zhang had offered to make him tea that night, and he fought off all of the mutants who had come to destroy Oystein. They managed to make it to the lab to sound the alarm, but by then Tom had already made off with the samples, leaving the doctor to create more to inject into his subjects, who he hoped would revitalise when they were scratched by a zombie. Pre-apocalypse Oystein experimented before the apocalypse, and travelled around the world to meet with people in high places and force cooperation from others. They helped him cover up any details about his work, and, when he finished experimenting, he set the date for the apocalypse. Apocalypse begins Dr Oystein first set up a tent in Hyde Park whilst he and his Angels cleaned out County Hall of all its undead residents. He ran a generator-powered Groove Tube in the park to heal his wounded Angels, but the noise attracted lots of reviveds who kept turning it off. Many Angels died as a result of the pain, which made Oystein very depressed according to the twins. Many of his subjects had died before the apocalypse due to the effect of Schlesinger in their systems, and many either reverted back to reviveds or had their brains eaten. Others asked to be moved to Angel safe houses around the world once they learnt of the importance of the London Angels, fearing what was to come. In Zom-B Angels, Oystein first appeared in County Hall, introducing himself to protagonist Becky Smith (more commonly known as "B"). He did not attempt to move or defend himself when B nearly attacked him. After talking to B, he proceeded to show her around the building, explaining some of history in setting up the base, the undead lifespan and about the Angels' preparation for war. He then allowed her to use a groove tube to heal her injuries, explaining advantages and disadvantages of using it before departing. Appearance Oystein is neat and tidy with combed brown hair that is streaked with grey. He looks around forty years old with calm brown eyes. His teeth and nails are filed down, more than the other revitalized because he has had many years of practice. He recently gained deep scars on his left cheek after B Smith attacked him. He has also developed bruising on the side of his face. By the end of Zom-B Goddess, Dr Oystein sustained serious injuries. Part of his skull was torn off by Albrecht during their fight, and his torso was ripped open in many places. Personality Initially, Dr Oystein presented himself as considerate and kind-hearted. He showed a sympathetic and calm nature towards others, offering advice and protection towards both revitalised and humans. He is also shown to be protective of his fellow Angels, threatening Dan-Dan with excruciating torture should Dan-Dan hurt any of his comrades after kindly yet briefly welcoming him into County Hall. He showered love and support on humans aswell, despite the fear many would show towards zombies. However, Dr Oystein is a manipulator, who can hide his violent, and murderous nature with a kind, loving one. He is not a fighter, and even when B attacked him, he laid there and allowed her to beat him. He did not attempt to defend himself, but stared at her with a miserable expression. He also struggled during his fight with Albrecht years before the apocalypse, which caused him to inject his brother with a mutant strain that burnt out most of his brain cells. Dr Oystein uses his smooth voice and calm nature to make people trust him, and he is able to lie convincingly to his Angels and allies to make them follow his lead. He is able to judge the moods of crowds and act accordingly. It is also apparent that his consideration and care for the well-being of revitalised zombies is due to the fact that he needs them as part of his plan to slyly usurp humanity and look after the welfare of the mutant babies afterwards. By the end of Zom-B Goddess, Oystein becomes enraged when B foils his plan to destroy humanity by releasing the zombie killing virus after he tricked her into unleashing the other virus. Oystein was becoming more unstable throughout the book, and almost struck B when she revealed that she no longer had the vial of Schlesinger-10, which shows his violent nature. Appearances Zom-B City (briefly) Zom-B Angels Zom-B Baby Zom-B Gladiator Zom-B Mission Zom-B Clans Zom-B Family (mentioned only) Zom-B Bride (mentioned only) Zom-B Fugitive Zom-B Goddess